I was glad

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For the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, I thought I would post two of the most glorious anthems written for two different coronations.  Whatever you think of the monarchy, there is no denying that the music so much of the music written for royal occasions is so glorious.  It is not possible to give you footage of the music from the actual celebrations (no videos in 1727!!) so here is the music performed on different occasions.

1) George Frideric Handel's Zadok the Priest is one of the four (and probably best known) coronation anthems written for George II in 1727, and has been performed at every subsequent British coronation service.  



2) Charles Hubert Hastings Parry's I was glad was written for the coronation of King Edward VII  and revised in 1911 for that of King George V, when the familiar introduction was added. This setting employs antiphonal choir effects and brass fanfares. Apart from the imperial splendour of the music, the chief innovation is the incorporation in the central section of the acclamations "Vivat Rex vivat... " or "Vivat Regina ... " ("Long live King/Queen ...") with which the Queen's Scholars of Westminster School traditionally greet the entrance of the monarch. This section, which has to be slightly rewritten every time a new monarch is crowned, is usually omitted when the anthem is performed on non-royal occasions. At the coronation of a king and queen, the vivat for the queen precedes that for the king (thank you Wikipedia).  Start at 2 minutes to hear the anthem at the 1953 coronation:





Here is the anthem performed at the royal wedding in 2011:


Enjoy!
Location: Saint Albans, Hertfordshire AL4 0XB, UK

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